On the First Day....

I can't say that there was a dramatic start to our school year this year. There wasn't anything dramatic about it at all. We had been doing "short school" all summer long, doing a great deal of math and all of our reading. But of course, it wasn't without all of the thrills that come along with homeschooling....."Box Day" happened, and we poured over our new texts and wondered just where our adventures in homeschooling would take us this year. Little did we know that our adventures would take us....Around the World.

We decided to continue using My Father's World this year, as it incorporates multilevel learning, and I can add or subtract lessons as necessary for my kids. Both of my kids loved it last year. This year, both girls would be moving onto MFW Exploring Countries and Cultures. On thing that I wanted to stress to my children, and one of the main reasons that I homeschool, is the fact that we, Christians, are not the only people on this earth. There are many other cultures of people groups out there that do not think and believe that we do. I believe that My Father's World does an excellent job of exploring those people groups.

So I set up our hallway (ahem....Classroom!) accordingly...with big maps, a large calendar on the door, and tweeked some things. Last year, I had one small bucket hung on the wall by each desk to hold pencils, crayons, and markers. I quickly found out that one bucket wasn't going to cut it. I found these great organizing buckets at IKEA, and had my dad install them while he was here. I added an extra white board, so that there would be one over each desk, and a desk lamp for each girl to use....as on overcast days, the sunshine doesn't come pouring into the front door like we like it to.

Yes, I know that The Big Apple is in her pajamas in this picture. And she's probably going to kill me in a couple of years when I show her boyfriend what she chose to wear to the First Day of School in the 3rd Grade. One of the reasons I love homeschooling? Every day can be pajama day, if you want to.
I also enhanced my reward system for the girls, and it's working out VERY well. For each subject that they do well, and in a timely manner, they are given a sticker for their lesson plan sheet. Each sticker is worth 5 minutes towards any screentime that they choose. 5 additional minutes is granted for chores done without complaint. Screen time includes Wii, a Netflix Movie, and playing Club Penguin on the computer. So far, this system has had the Apples working fairly hard, and asking for extra credit and extra chores as well. Of course, it also means that I have to give up my computer for a while every day. ugh.
We ditched Math U See, and brought in Horizons at each girl's grade level. We are so much happier with Horizons. Gone is the begrudging that used to surround math class. And we are working on such a variety of new things, that we can't help but like it. I am continuously amused and astounded at how quickly the Apples have picked up the concepts that are presented to them.

So far, we are enjoying our school year. There are some dry spots in the geography sections of MFW, and we sort of skim those just a bit, and other lessons I have to cut down to what I believe to be age appropriate for my kids. And then, of course, there are those days where school has to be tossed out the window...and learning takes flight outside of the textbook and the classroom. Truly, I believe it's those days my kids are going to remember....the days when mama said "Shut your books and put on your shoes. We need to go outside and breathe air for awhile!" And we do.
On the third day of school, there were just too many rainbows to chase. And trust me, childhood is much too short to miss a single rainbow. So we chase as many as we can.

I was told to update my blog....

It was a really great summer.


Um....yeah.....so great, I never bothered to blog much about it.

The other day, my friend Stephenie asked if I was still blogging. Um...yeah...I guess I am. Today, I am.

I haven't updated in forever. The summer kindof got away with us, and then school started. And by the end of the school day, there just isn't much left of me that I feel like sharing with the world. (Because the WHOLE WORLD is reading MY blog, right? What's that you say? It's not? Oh...well, then....I guess I'd better update for all 2 or 3 of you that do check my blog then. )

At this point, I'm not even sure HOW to update you all on our busy lives.

Perhaps a picture or a few to highlight the rest of our summer? Will that do?
We went to the spray park a lot this summer. The library was offering free passes for every 500 minutes read, and The Apple Dumplin's all thought this offer was too good to pass up. So we read. Alot. We were blessed to have my Geeya and nephew, The Cannon visit for a while this summer. Having them meant very busy days and fun nights!

After their visit, the girls and I high tailed it to Florida for some fun. Unfortunately, our adventures in Florida were filled with bad luck.....which involved jumping into a swimming pool with a brand new iphone in a pocket, trying to dry out said iphone, replacing said iphone, and never getting remotely close to another body of water for the remainder of the trip. Don't ask me how one goes to Florida in the heat of summer and NOT get wet. But we did. Oh...and at the end of our Florida adventure, the Little Apple had to go the the ER for an incident that involved a high velocity swing, The Big Apple, and a concrete floor. Thankfully enough, The Little Apple was fine, following a very costly CT scan, and now has a small dent on the other side of her head, matching the first one. (we might as well just make the poor girl wear a football helmet until she reaches puberty!)

My dad came back with us from Florida to stay for a week. Our luck changed. The girls had the chance to make some very special memories with their Peepaw. This particular picture was taken on a walk at the Bell Towers.
We took Peepaw with us up to Baton Rouge for the Hot Air Balloon Festival. It was gorgeous, as usual. The Little Apple, I think, was the most amazed....as she sat perfectly still while the balloons inflated. "Balla-Moot!" (balloon!) she kept yelling and pointing!
This festival will probably always be one of my favorite things we ever did here in Louisiana.

Stay tuned.....I will blog another time about our first days of school!

Rain, Rain, Go Away....

Rain, Rain, go away.
Come again another day.

We had a brief let up in the rain over the 4th of July weekend. Just long enough to cut the grass that has grown 5 feet tall because of the rain. But you guessed it. It's raining again. I need to go ahead and build that Ark now.

Little Miss OCD.

Little Apple and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Well, she hasn't had an official diagnosis, nor will I be seeking a diagnosis and it's not something that I am worried about at all. It's something quirky that I thought was blogworthy that I want to remember when the Little Apple gets older. Her little quirks bring a smile to my face some days, and leave me shaking my head on others.

The Little Apple has always had some issues. Tactile Defensiveness is a discription that one of her therapists has used. As a newborn, she didn't want anyone to hold her or rock her to fall asleep...she always fell asleep on her own. Alone in her crib, or in a swing. At her first birthday party, she didn't want to touch her birthday cake. She doesn't like having any toys in her bathwater. EVER.....she will screech, and one at the time, dump every single toy out of the bathtub and throw it on the floor. Then, when you get her out of the bathtub, she screeches because the floor is wet.....from the toys that SHE dumped there.
A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to a friend's house to play in their kiddie pool. The Little Apple finally got in the water, but spent the entire time picking blades of grass and leaves that were floating around on the top of the water, and throwing them out of the pool. I was slight embarrassed.
Yeah. She's got some OCD issues. She found a long blonde hair on her carseat yesterday, and threw such a frightened fit about it, I had to pull over to find out what the problem was. I belly laughed when she pointed to the hair and said "OUT!" Maybe she thought it was a spider web or something? Who knows what goes on in that little brain of hers.
I'm not concerned about these things...her therapist mentioned that the issues don't seem to hinder her from everyday activities. After a couple of weeks of working with her, she now will touch(and squash!) playdough, eat cereal and milk and not freak out when she dribbles milk on herself, and not freak out when I do her hair in pigtails and then show her her reflection in the mirror. (yes, she had a meltdown the first time she saw herself with 2 pigtails in her head!)

Instead of being concerned about her OCD tendencies, I plan on using them to my advantage. For instance.....the Little Apple doesn't like to see shoes on the floor. When my kids enter the house...the immediately remove their shoes. I am teaching the Little Apple to pick up the shoes and dump them in a basket by the door. She loves to do it. She enjoys throwing away diapers.

And then there is the vacuum cleaner. The Little Apple loves this little vacuum.
I do believe she would vacuum 50 times a day if she wanted to. Pretty much every square inch of the floor in the house has been "cleaned" by the the Little Apple. She adores it. When it is time for me to do our carpets, she runs and grabs her's and does the floors behind me and "gets" all the spots that I missed. I do believe that I will have to upgrade her machine to one that actually "sucks" dirt. She's my little helper and I love her. I hope her love for housework continues through life